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Supergirl Casts Laurie Metcalf as Winn's Mother

Supergirl has cast three-time Emmy Award-winner Laurie Metcalf as Winn Schott's mother. In the past, Winn's family members have been troublesome, to put it lightly - as evidenced by Toyman, his villainous father. But with a new year comes new opportunities for parental reconnection.

TVLine reports that Metcalf's character will appear in the current season's 15th episode, set to air in 2018. In early November, it was reported that the actress would guest-star in an episode of Supergirl, but the role hadn't been confirmed until now. Metcalf's interest in appearing on the show has been fueled, in part, by her youngest child's adoration of Melissa Benoist, the titular Supergirl.

2018 is gearing up to be a busy year for Metcalf, who will return to the role of Jackie Harris for ABC's Roseanne revival. Her performance in the show's original run (which lasted from 1988 to 1997) won her three Emmys, and led to two Golden Globe nominations (as well as a fourth Emmy nod). She was nominated for three more Emmys in 2016, for her roles on Getting On, The Big Bang Theory, and Horace and Pete.

Laurie Metcalf in Lady Bird

More recently, Metcalf played Marion McPherson in Lady Bird, a critically-acclaimed comedy-drama that released on November 3. Over the course of her celebrated career, Metcalf has proven her ability to stirringly portray motherhood on both big and small screens. The presence of superheroes could complicate her foray into the world of Supergirl, but there's no reason to expect anything less than an excellent performance from Metcalf. And, given how accomplished an actress Metcalf is, her contribution to the show could go a decent way toward combatting the reductive stigmas that surround superhero and CW shows. (Not that those stigmas are the end-all, be-all, though.) What's more, because Supergirl is expressly interested in portraying strong and layered female characters, there's great potential for Metcalf's guest spot to go beyond the often stale realm of parent-child reunions. It wouldn't be naive to expect Metcalf's character to be compelling, and to influence a narrative with genuine purpose.

Supergirl is only five episodes into its third season, so there's plenty more to come. And, according to David Harewood (who plays the Martian Manhunter in the show), the rest of the season promises to be exciting; he recently alluded to surprises in store from Reign,the current big-bad of Supergirl. And if any appetites need further whetting, the trailer for "Midvale," the show's forthcoming episode, should do the trick.